


Wish Upon A Star

by burningdarkfire



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 19:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14940158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burningdarkfire/pseuds/burningdarkfire
Summary: Keith dreams of Shiro one last time.(alternate ending to s6, where shiro doesn't make it back.  not romantic, but take from it what you will)





	Wish Upon A Star

**Author's Note:**

> hey so uhhh voltron s6 killed me and i honestly don't know how they're going to continue this show after they managed to surpass my expectations on just about everything. i understand why they didn't kill shiro since it's a season finale not a show finale etc but man, what if they did and that was just it?

“Shiro!”

Keith’s voice rings out.  His eyes shoot open to see stars all around him, the ones twinkling overhead reflected at his feet below.  Shiro stands before him.  He looks good – he stands tall, strong, and with a smile on his face as he looks at the speckled sky.

“Shiro,” Keith says again, breathlessly rushing forward.   He blinks, and he stops.  Shiro’s form seems to blur a little, in the moments when Keith’s eyes are almost closed and he isn’t quite looking.  Keith raises his voice, unsure if he is imagining things.  “Shiro?  Are you okay?”

“Keith!”  At his call, Shiro turns closes the distance between them with a few more strides.  His hands grasp Keith’s shoulders, heavy and familiar.  “What happened?  Did you reach the other paladins?  Is everyone safe?”

“Yeah,” Keith says.  “We made it in time.  Everyone’s okay, but we had to sacrifice the castle and leave Lotor behind.”

Shiro waits for him to clarify and continue, but Keith looks at Shiro and is overwhelmed.  If what he said before is true, then so much has happened since that battle with Zarkon, since Shiro disappeared – since Shiro died.  Keith’s failed attempts at leading Voltron – his time with the Blade of Mamora – the mission with his mother that had warped time and space.  He had spent years travelling on that creature and thinking of the moment when he could reunite with his friends.  He had played countless scenarios in his head of how he might see Shiro again. 

But not this.  He never imagined this could happen.

“What happened to you?”  Keith asks softly.  He can’t resist the urge to reach out and touch Shiro’s face, just to make sure he is real.  Shiro smiles a little as Keith runs his thumb over his cheek.  “Have you really been here all this time?”

Shiro lets go of Keith and rubs the back of his neck.  He still stands close and he gives Keith a quick smile, but Keith is not reassured.  “Time is a little different here, I think.  I hear most of what the Black Lion hears, so I have the general idea of a lot of Voltron’s missions.  I’ve seen a lot of what – what my other self has done.  I don’t really know how it works.”  His form seems to flicker again when Keith blinks. 

Shiro looks up at the stars again and gives a quiet chuckle.  “It’s been a little quiet lately.  I’d nearly given up hope on contacting any of you again.  When Lance broke through that one time, I thought – maybe – but then he was gone and someone who was me but not me was still in the Black Lion.” 

“Shiro,” Keith says, and his voice cracks.  He looks away.  His hands hang at his side in fists.  “I’m sorry.  I should’ve been able to tell.  I know you better than anyone.  I piloted the Black Lion when you were gone.  I should have known.”

Shiro immediately reaches for him again, pulling Keith’s fists into his own hands until he relaxes them into open palms.  “Keith, you couldn’t have known.  This is not your fault.”

“I’m not sure exactly what’s happened to you recently,” Shiro admits as he squeezes Keith’s hands, and Keith realizes suddenly that he feels taller now.  Keith must have grown in the past couple of years, nearly enough to stand and face Shiro eye-to-eye.  He is irrationally irritated by the thought and shakes it off.  Shiro smiles at him as if he’s made the same realization.  “I am so proud of you now.  You are an incredible pilot and paladin and you have grown so well into your role as a leader.  I knew I was right never to give up on you.  The Black Lion is lucky to have you.”

“The Black Lion is yours, Shiro.”  Keith sets his jaw stubbornly, resisting the implications behind Shiro’s words.  “It’s always been yours, and now it’s especially yours since we know that you’re only here because of your connection.  We’ll figure out how to get you out – maybe into the body of the clone – and then you’ll be able to pilot again and lead Voltron again –”

Shiro smiles sadly and looks down at their hands.  Keith follows his gaze slowly, already suspecting and dreading what he might find.   

Shiro’s fingers are translucent, the stars shining through them.

“No,” Keith says, squeezing their hands together as hard as he can.  The translucent segments fade through his fingers, as if they are not there at all.  “No, Shiro.”

“I’ve already stayed here for too long,” Shiro says.  Keith can see it – whatever it is – spreading slowly through Shiro’s hands and creeping up his legs.  The edges of Shiro’s arms seem to be flickering, blurring into the background, becoming one with the space around them.  “I wanted to make sure you were all okay.”

Shiro’s voice is gentle, and for the first time, Keith realizes how tired Shiro must be.  He seems to carry the weight of all his responsibilities upon his shoulders with such ease that it is easy to forget.  Even now, Shiro wears such a look of relief to hear that the universe is safe once again.

“Okay,” Keith says, trying to hold back his tears.  He tries to think of what a leader might say – of what someone like Shiro might say.  “Okay.  It’s okay, Shiro.  You don’t have to fight anymore.  It’s okay.”  He isn’t even sure who he’s trying to convince in the moment, but Shiro smiles at him even as he continues to fade.  Keith wants to say that he will find Shiro again, that he will keep his own promise and fix this, but he knows what Shiro wants to hear instead.  “We’ll be okay.  I’ll take care of everyone.  ”

“Hey,” Shiro says, and he scoops Keith into a last hug.  “I really am proud of you.  I want you to know that.  I love you.”

The words echo in his heart, and Keith has to choke back a sob.  He knows that Shiro wouldn’t have heard what he said in the clone factory.  He knows he has to respond, but it feels like every memory he has of Shiro is lodged in his throat, preventing him from speaking. 

Keith looks at Shiro’s face and fights through his tears.

“I love you too,” Keith says, and they hold each other until Shiro fades to stardust.

* * *

Keith wakes.

He moves through the morning quietly, offering little more than nods to the other paladins.  Everyone else is similarly subdued as they prepare their lions for the flight to Earth.  Keith sees that someone has wrapped Shiro’s – the clone’s – body in white cloth, and he picks it up and brings it to the Black Lion. 

It lies heavy in his arms.  The Black Lion is quiet as it wakes.  It is aware of the weight it carries. 

Keith’s face is damp with tears.  He doesn’t bother trying to wipe them away as the rest of the paladins connect to their comms.  Most of them are crying too, quietly sniffling as they wait for his instructions.

“Let’s bring him home,” Keith says.  He looks towards the stars and sets course for Earth.

**Author's Note:**

> also check out [this fanart](http://maobebe.tumblr.com/post/147780943806/you-have-to-let-him-go) from 2 years ago that literally convinced me to watch the show because of how beautiful it was, and just join me in thinking about all this


End file.
